The missing piece
by PilsenPiloswine
Summary: After losing a beloved person, Byron and Roark's life became a continue struggle for happiness and serenity. Everything seemed to be lost, but hope is hard to die. *the final form of the previously called "Broken and Fixed"
1. Introduction

**A/N: Took me long enough. I finally managed (after…two, three years?) to rewrite Broken and Fixed (the past fic will be deleted from my profile, don't panic, I'm not stealing my own works).**

 **This introduction is pretty long, I hope I didn't screw it up.**

 **Disclaimers: I don't own Pokèmon**

* * *

Buildings have always been an essential part of Byron's life: he started working as a builder at the age of fourteen, right after his father reported a bad injury which prevented him to carry out his one job for an undefined period of time. He took part to Canalave's City employment: he built the new bridge, restored the library that was falling off and even took part to the harbor's realization.

When he saved up enough, he eventually built his own little house, which sooner became the greatest pride he ever had. The talent for building had always been running in his veins.

Byron put all himself in his job, even if his efforts weren't always rewarded. He loved his profession so much he sacrificed most of his youth working. However, eventually came the time in which he felt his life a bit incomplete; around the age of twenty-three, he was feeling oddly uncomfortable whenever he got back home after a long day of work. His beloved house was perfect, but empty .

Feeling alone at home, Byron started to hang out always more often, he especially enjoyed to stay at a pub close to the Canalave library in which they sold good beef for reasonable prices; he spent whole nights playing snooker and chatting with his friends and colleagues.

During one of his nth snooker matches, Byron paused to order something to drink, it was there when he noticed her: shoulder flame red hair, creamy white skin, curvy hips and fine, thin hands. The woman was wearing an evening knee-length white dress (so tight that it left noting to imagination), she elegantly sipped at her wine while glancing at the TV screen from time to time.

It took Byron few moments to find the right words to tell her; he hesitantly sat down on the chair next to that mysterious woman.

"Nimbasa Lions vs Strialton's Crows. The programmers really have nothing to offer…" commented Byron, pointing at the football match going on the TV screen. The woman smiled at him "No wonder everybody is getting a pay TV." She replied.

Byron slid a little bit closer "Sorry for the impertinence, miss. But what is such a young and nice lady doing in a drunken pit like this?"

"I moved in two days ago… just wanted to see what's the social life like around here…"

In that same moment, the sound of a breaking chair interrupted the conversation the two looked up at the poker table: a middle aged man was screaming his lungs out. Apparently, he lost a fair bunch of money and he was trying to get it back by intimidating the other.

With the woman's words still ringing in his ears, Byron shrugged "It's pretty lively around here as you can see. No offense, but I don't think this kind of dirty place could suit a woman like you"

Said woman's lips curved up, she delicately circled her Martini glass rim with her index finger "That's rude, for sure"

She affirmed, glaring at the noisy man at the poker table "Luckily there are well mannered gentlemen around here" she finished, glancing at Byron.

The strong, fearless steel master was left armless at this, he felt his heart melting. His face was redder than a shiny Gyarados: he wasn't used to receive nice comments, especially from such a gorgeous woman. He already had physical stories with other women in the past, however, these relationships were just based on a momentary attraction aimed to satisfy a mutual need, in short words, something that was built to last just one night, destined to be forgotten the very next day. This time it was different: this woman had something magnetic, something out of the scheme: so fascinating and yet so cold.

The woman sipped her last drop of Martini "Don't get so flustered" she smiled. Byron shook his head, trying to gain his composure back, he wanted and actually attempted to say something coherent that just didn't come out.

Seeing her companion in such difficulty, the lady decided to take a step back: she stretched her hand out towards Byron "I am sorry, I forgot my manners: my name is Ariana"

In an impulsive way, Byron shook the hand back, introducing himself back. As soon as he mentioned his own name, Ariana kind of started "Byron. Byron the golden builder?" she exclaimed, making Byron blush once again

"I hate that nickname…" he commented, scratching the back of his head

"Why? There's a lot connected to it. You gave an enormous contribute to this city's construction, the nickname suits you pretty well. Besides I saw the house you built, I couldn't believe that was one man's work. "

For a second, Byron asked himself how could a person that moved in just two days before know all those details about him. He just decided to shake it off, women are known to be good gossipers, he couldn't see how that could be harmful. Besides, it was the first time a woman showed interest to his work and not just to his appearance, she seemed serious.

"I just did my job" answered Byron, ordering another couple of drinks "What is your occupation instead?" he asked, interested. Ariana passed a hand through her hair, moving a lock behind her hear "I'm in the business sector. I work as an agent for a couple of foreign firms. Right now I'm still close to the bottom of the pyramid, but I'm aiming at the top"

Byron felt amused at that "And why did you choose Canalave City out of all the big business urban centers around the world?"

Ariana shrugged: "I can't exactly state it, I just needed a new place to stay, and I liked it here. Besides, rents really are cheap. I tried to look for something in Jubilife City: none of the apartments with a rent below one thousand dollars were suited for living. Not to mention that I hate all those clowns hanging around the city, honestly, I can't understand how could a firm be successful with that kind of marketing campaign."

Byron laughed at that, he liked the strong spirit of Ariana.

The two kept on chatting until the bar had to close up, time seemed to fly by. Every word coming out of that mouth was just like a spell, he couldn't quit listening to her. From that long conversation, he understood Ariana was a strong independent woman. Someone who wouldn't panic in front of troubles, a person that once settled an aim, was ready to make the impossible to reach it.

Noticing the mutual interest, the two decided to see one another once again. The encounters didn't stop at that first date.

Taking advantage of Ariana's novel experience in Sinnoh, Byron showed her around: she took her to the residence in Pastoria City, they went ice skating in Snowpoint and once they even climbed all the way up to Mt. Coronet.

It took them one month to turn that close friendship into something more serious. Ariana started to sleep at Byron's place always more often, he proposed her to go and live together, but she always rather keeping her apartment: she claimed that it was pointless, since the both of them worked all the week long with different schedules, even living in the same house they would have seen each other just in the weekends. That until a peculiar day came: Byron just finished his shift when he found his beloved fiancé waiting for him outside of the building site. She wore a curious expression on her face, something in the middle between shock and happiness.

Seeing Ariana outside at that time was strange, she was always working all the day long and at that time she was supposed to be in her office. Byron walked closer, worrying that something bad could have happened.

"Hey, what are you doing here at this time?" he asked, worried. Ariana rummaged in her purse, taking out a freezer bag with a pregnancy test. There was a green circle on the display. Byron took it in his hands, he was bewildered.

"I kept on puking for all the morning, I thought there was something oddly wrong with me" commented Ariana "Look, if you don't want to, I am still on time to interrupt it"

Byron didn't answer, he just hugged her strongly (completely forgetting he was soaked in dust and painting) "No." he muttered, cupping her face in his hands "I am ready if you are. I'll take my responsibilities" he had tears at the corner of his eyes. That was the best new someone could ever give to him: he could already picture the kid playing around his house, that building wouldn't be empty anymore.

What made him the happiest, was to see that Ariana as well was prone to keep the baby.

This new brought an important series of changes in their life: since Ariana at a certain point of her pregnancy would be forced to take a break from her job, they decided to move in at Byron's house so they could have saved the money of the rent.

This new situation kind of forced Byron to introduce Ariana to his family. The hardest part would have be to tell them he was going to become the father of her kids as well as her husband. Even though his family was reduced to his father and aunt. Byron's mother was sadly taken away by an infection she caught while she was working in the fields. They didn't have enough money at the time to get _Cl. tetani_ vaccine, the poor woman passed away after some days of sufferance.

They arranged a family dinner at Byron's home. Ariana was gorgeous as always, her fancy style was suited for all the occasions.

Despite her glimmering appearance, Byron's aunt Bertha couldn't stop watching her carefully. She sensed something quite dangerous behind that fine look. On the other hand, Byron's father was happy to the bone at the news, the prospective of being a grandfather soon warmed his old heart up.

At the end of the dinner, Ariana claimed to be dead tired, something that sounded strange to Bertha, since she didn't even lay the table, she excused herself and went straight to bed, leaving the three members alone. It was actually pretty late, and Byron's father needed to catch the last train.

Bertha insisted in staying to help her nephew cleaning up, the new of the child and the imminent wedding was worrying her for several reasons: the two have known each other for just a couple of months before they arranged the whole thing. She was sure Byron put himself in an adventure that was going to be heavier than he expected. Besides, she didn't like Ariana at all, during the meal she was evasive on every question concerning her private life: she said nothing at all about her family, she didn't even name the firms she claimed to be working for, Bertha knew better that she wasn't silent for privacy issues, because Byron didn't know anything of it as well.

She hated to be charged with the duty of the tiresome mother-in-law, but she needed to let Byron know about her doubts. When her nephew got inside the kitchen to help her drying the dishes, she sighed "Quite the evasive type, isn't she?"

Byron shrugged "I know, she might look a bit selfish, but trust me, she is a good person. You will eventually appreciate her"

Bertha felt she was about to laugh at that, no way it could ever happen "You know, I don't like sticking my nose in your private business, but you don't seem to know her enough either"

"That's because I trust her. A relationship without trust it's not a relationship at all" came the bitter response . Bertha shook her head "Be aware of trust, don't overdo it. That's the very first step for disappointment"

Byron rose his eyes to the ceiling, he loved his aunt, but old women are all of the same paste: doubtful and a bit invading. He decide to calm her down by saying he considered everything before making that kind of decision.

Bertha snickered, she knew it was impossible, but she couldn't do anything else for him: he didn't want to be helped, and there was no way to act otherwise. He would have tested on his own skin how unpredictable that situation was.

The first sign happened four months later, after a routine visit to the hospital, Ariana came back with the announcement that the kids were actually two. Byron almost spitted his coffee on the table, in that moment, he couldn't ask for more.

Knowing that two new kids were coming, Byron decided to leave his job at the building company to start working in the mines: the shifts were all settled during the night, but they were paid more than his actual job, he decided to open an shared bank account with his wife, so she would have access to the funds whenever she needed and it wasn't necessary for Byron to follow her around.

During his free time, Byron worked hard into crafting the furniture necessary for the babies, he turned all the dangerous corners in his home safe by covering them with rubber. He helped Ariana in everything: he cooked and took care of the chores.

On the other hand, Ariana didn't even try to help him, she didn't even propose anything and whenever Byron asked her a favor , one way or another she avoided it.

Thinking it was all pregnancy's fault, Byron didn't give it too much importance, but Bertha's advices sounded in his ears always more often.

After nine months of mood swifts and nauseas, the delivery date finally came.

Byron was cooking dinner when he saw his wife slowly approaching from the bedroom, her night west was wet and her face was completely pale, hair stuck on her front with sweat.

"Hey sweetie…" she breathed "…I guess we have an appointment tonight"

He didn't need to be told twice: turning the stoves off and literally throwing the knife in the sink, Byron took his wife straight to the hospital; he might have caught a fine or two, but he couldn't care less.

They made it to the hospital just in time: one hour later, Byron was finally able to embrace his kids.

Byron held the two newborn babies in his arms, his heart melting at the view of those eyes curiously staring at him. He noticed that the babies had different eye color, one was a light shade of gray, just like Ariana, while the other had them dark brown.

A nurse came closer holding some papers and a pen, she smiled up at Byron "I have to fill in the schedule for the births register, sir. Have you already decided what are you going to name them?"

Byron glanced at his wife, they discussed it at home, but they never came up to a solution. His wife shrugged, smiling "Come on, I did my job so far, now it's your turn"

That response didn't sound well at all, but Byron just shook it off, turning his attention back to the nurse "Roark and Kamon" he said sweetly. The nurse appointed the names on two bracelets that put around the respective kid's wrist. She then smiled, hurrying out of the door "I have another patient, please ring the bell if you need anything" she said before disappearing into the corridor.

Tired for the labor, Ariana eventually fell asleep, leaving Byron alone with the two kids. Little did he know that was going to be the first of a long series of days alone with his sons.

Bertha's prediction didn't delay to take place: Ariana decided to get back to work two months after the kids were born. Useless were Byron's comments on the need for the babies to take breast milk. "They invented formulas for a specific purpose" was her standard answer.

Byron even considered the idea of momentarily quitting his job to take care of his children, since Ariana started working again, they wouldn't be miserable. His wife wasn't of the same advice, she claimed that he was staying at home for the weekends and during the day, and that there was no need for him to quit. She deiced to take charge for the payments, since she worked in an office, it was easier for her to manage their finances directly from the web. Luckily, Bertha gave her availability to help and that was revealed to be precious for Byron.

The load of work at home was heavier than Byron expected, especially after the two kids started walking, he could barely prevent one to fall from the sofa that the other was already climbing on a chair. Besides, everyone one got sick, it wouldn't be too long before the other would have become ill as well.

He was tired, but whenever the long day ended, he couldn't help but feel happy. His only remorse was to see that his wife didn't seem to care at all, she started working even at night and some times in the weekend, she pretended she had to travel to some other town. They barely had dinner together.

she was always vague whenever Byron asked her about her job, and just now was starting to understand Bertha's words. He was in doubt whether to break the relationship up or not, in the end, he always thought it was better to keep things as they were, even if he was rising his kids up alone. He would have regretted his choice three years later.

For quite a long time, he noticed something was wrong with Roark, while the two kids learnt to speak and walk almost together, he had some troubles that Kamon didn't have. While Kamon was able to walk around without stumbling, Roark kept on hitting into things. In several occasions, he saw Kamon helping his brother by walking with him hand to hand. Despite the scene was sweet, Byron understood the kid need to be seen by a specialist. He spoke about it with Ariana who agreed on taking an appointment with an oculist.

That day, Bertha was busy and couldn't come over to watch Kamon while Byron would be in Jubilife with Roark. Usually he would have bring them together, but this time it could be hard to watch them both. Despite Kamon was a quiet kid, he tended to become nervous whenever he saw someone apparently doing something bad to his brother. Surprisingly, Ariana agreed to stay at home with Kamon while Byron was out. This new made him all happy. Actually, in the latest month she started to show interest for his kids health conditions. However, what seemed to be the first sign of fixation, turned out to be the final crack for the breakdown.

The visit took Byron longer than expected. Roark was diagnosed to be myopic, the doctor insisted that they should have got a pair of glasses as soon as possible, since the kid would have started going to the kindergarten soon. The doctor called his colleagues who would have made glasses ad hoc for him, but they would have been ready just in the evening.

Byron noticed Roark was uneasy, he kept on asking when they were going back home, he wanted to see Kamon. In the attempt to calm his son down, Byron called Ariana at home. He needed to try several times before getting an answer

"Sorry, the kid was falling asleep. He was all upset because he wanted to be with Roark. I needed to shut the phone down" she said

"I know, Roark here is upset as well, we're coming home later, don't wait for us to have dinner, we're grabbing something on the way back home"

"Got it. Have a safe trip"

Byron didn't even have time to say her goodbye that she closed the call.

"Kamon is sleeping. Your mom says he misses you as well"

Roark calmed down at the comment, even though he wasn't satisfied with that. despite he didn't want to admit it, Byron wasn't either. It was strange for Kamon to make fuss, maybe he was sick as well?

On their way back home, Roark kept on talking to his Solrock pendant, pretending his brother was listening on the other side with his Lunatone one. Byron bought it to them some weeks earlier when they went on a trip to Mt. Coronet, the kids claimed them to be magic and never wanted to take them off.

Byron smiled down at his son, they were passing the last bridge that lead to Canalave city "Soon enough you'll be talking with him face to face"

Those words weren't going to become true. It was barely eight o' clock in the evening and all the lights were off, maybe Ariana brought the kid out for dinner. He noticed the door wasn't locked and some windows were left open. Feeling the panic sensation raising inside of him, Byron hurried inside, calling his son and wife's name out loud just to receive no answer, he embraced Roark as he proceeded on checking all the rooms in the house. Each one was empty.

He tried to call Ariana, but most to his pain, she left her phone at home. Roark started to cry, calling his brother's name.

Seeing himself cornered, Byron called the police.

His life was just turning into a nightmare.

Researches went on for days, Byron himself took part in them, but the closer they looked, the weaker her hopes got. Policeman warned him that after 48 hours, the chances to find the kid still alive were low.

He prayed and hoped those words will never become true, Kamon was with Ariana, there was no way something bad would have happened to him. She could be cold, but she would never hurt her son. Maybe someone wanted to rob the house and took them with him, but no one saw a living soul getting in or out of the house apart from Byron and Roark.

Byron's nerves were on the edge, the only thing that kept him from breaking out was Roark, he needed to be strong for him and for Kamon, he couldn't blow up so easily.

The point break eventually came when a policeman came knocking at his door. The man held his hat on his hands. Byron didn't need any words to understand what the officer was about to tell him. He screamed out of his lungs in pain, all his fears just become truth. He couldn't handle it anymore.

The policeman brought him to the murder chamber, in there, several bodies were laid on metal tables covered with white cloths. Byron wanted to throw up, he wasn't sure he wanted to recognize the corpse of his dead son. A doctor stopped in front of a table, he looked at Byron straight in the eyes before eventually asking "Can I raise the cloth? Are you ready?"

Byron took a deep breath, trying to hold back all the tears that were forming in his eyes, maybe they got it all wrong, otherwise they wouldn't be asking him for a confirmation. He nodded saving the last glimmer of hope. What was underneath made him almost puke: there it was his son, his body was completely destroyed by the flames. The only things partially saved where his hair and some pieces of clothes and the steel bracelet with his name on. There were no more doubts, he wouldn't be embracing his son anymore.

The police affirmed the corpse was found together with the ones of other kids coming from all around the region, the responsible was a gang of crooks that sold human organs. Apparently, they were spotted and decided to burn the house they were keeping their victims in.

When the crooks got arrested, they affirmed that an attractive woman with flaming red hair, brought them a kid in exchange of a nice amount of money. There wasn't any trace of the woman anymore.

Everything was clearer at Byron's eyes: the reason why his wife was so attentive towards the children's health lately, her spontaneous suggestion to stay at home with Kamon while he was out all the day long. She made all to satisfy her aims.

It didn't take him long to discover that Ariana cleaned up their shared bank account for good, in the end, Byron never got interested in the finances, since she was the one who pretended to manage them all.

And now he was there, all the dreams he built just crashed down on him.

* * *

 **A/N: I don't know when I will be able to update it. I am sorry for this, but I am currently studying and working, and in both cases I have to use the computer, that's why when I'm finished the bare idea of turning my laptop on and type other words makes me tired. I hope I will take my old shape back soon :))** **thanks to all the readers who keep following my stories and patiently wait for updates, you have no idea how much I love you guys :DD !** **I guess I owe you all my apologies, I promise I will be working harder ;) !**


	2. Conversations and inquiries

**A/N: In this fiction there are some references to my precious work "Home is where heart is"**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokèmon.

Riley groaned soundly coming out of the shower: his muscles and bones hurt. It was a peculiarly tiresome day: his pupil, Lucas decided to bring his best friend Barry along. Glad to be useful to some other trainer wannabe, Riley accepted the deal. Despite his powers, he couldn't know how hard it would be: Barry was pure dynamite, more than one time they risked to see the walls collapsing down on them. Not even Zekrom could be such a danger.

Even his trustworthy companion Lucario, which usually helped him with the chores at home, was completely knocked out on the carpet.

Glad that the infinite training session was eventually over, Riley turned on the water pot, some hot coffee was all he needed to relive his sore body.

He barely made it to the couch, when his phone started to ring like crazy. Imaging who would be calling, he hesitated for a second; he wasn't in the mood to quiet down a fight at the moment.

The insisting ring wouldn't stop, bothering the poor Lucario as well. Resigned, Riley went on and answered the phone.

"Hey man, what's the deal this time?" he asked, already knowing the answer. On the other side, a grumpy Roark was yelling the hell out of his lungs.

"Our father is a nimrod, that's what!"

In such moment, Roark's attitude towards Byron was bothersome to Riley. It wasn't appropriate. At all. However, he knew the other needed to cool down a bit before starting to reason again, lecturing his younger brother in that moment would have just added fuel to the fire.

"Come on, tell me what happened…"

Again, he already knew the answer.

"He never, ever listens to me! He gave up, that's what! Yesterday, he complained for the billionth time that I didn't visit the graveyard. He says I'm disrespectful towards my brother"

Riley nodded to the know well known tale: "You answered that you wouldn't go visit some stranger pretending it was Kamon and then the fight exploded, isn't it?"

"Yes! As if I was wrong! "

"I know, I know. But, couldn't you just go there, leave some flowers or something, just to make him happy?"

Roark snickered "And pretend my brother is dead for good? Not even for a thousand billions pokèdollars."

"Okay, fine. I'll talk with him, but please, promise me you won't boost next time."

"As if it was my own fault. Lately he's going to that goddamn graveyard every single day. If I start going one time a year, he is going to become always more persistent, and honestly, I don't feel like spending my days at the graveyard all the goddamn year!"

"You're being tragic. Look, I'll do my best to make him change his position a little, but you have to work on it as well. "

Roark fell silent for some seconds. Riley understood he finally calmed down.

"Thank you bro. I can't even imagine how I would have done without you"

 _I wouldn't dare imagine it_

Thought Riley, closing the call.

"It's over for now." he sighed, starting to worry on how to face Byron the following day.

Despite his brother could be such a hot-head, he couldn't deny he had his reasons.

Despite he wasn't present when the tragic event happened; he knew the story far too well.

In front of such a dramatic loss, it's impossible to establish which reaction is right or wrong, maybe there is none. Roark could be right, in the end the corpse was completely burned and hard to recognize, seen the date of disappearing and the analogue cases, it was extremely probable that it belong to Kamon. It is even true that a DNA test was never done, so it couldn't be judged as tangible evidence.

Roark defined his father's reaction as extremely selfish: according to his opinion, pretending Kamon was dead was easier: there would be no point in keeping on looking for him.

But what if it was the other way round? If Kamon really was dead, then it could have result in a heavy shock for Roark. In the end, the longer one sticks to a conviction, the harder the truth becomes to accept.

He couldn't decide himself what to believe; he just wanted the best for those people he could call _family_ , the ones who took him away from the cold alleys and days of starvation. When he started to believe there was no way out, that no one would have ever accepted him, there Roark and Byron came to save him, somehow at their own expenses. The fact that now he was unable to fix this situation made him feel kind of hopeless.

He was worried for Byron. Thinking back at Roark's words, his step-father was suffering, there was no way to hide it: the situation became quite dramatic. Maybe he was feeling alone, both of his sons were now living their own life alone. This surely left him more time to reflect and his thought were undeniably going to Kamon.

When both Riley and Roark were kids, he was so absorbed by them he barely had time to think about that tragic happening, but now it was different: there wasn't any furniture to clean or glassware to fix when he came back from work, just the cold and silent house was waiting for him.

Riley sighed, trying to figure out a way to help his father out of this situation or at least to quiet it down once for all.

This last event tired him off even more; he poured some boiling coffee in a mug, turned the TV on and sunk on the couch.

"Dam it…" he muttered, zapping from a channel to the other.

"Trash, trash and trash."

He stopped on the news channel; they were showing the Clefairy dance at Mt. Moon in Kanto. He knew about that, but it was the very first time he had ever seen it recorded

"For the sheer of dumb luck. If I'd ever go there, I'll never be able to see such a show."

When the magical show was over, the attention was focused on Johto's annual national celebration for the young victims of the Masked Man.

Riley heard about it, of course, it was one of the most discussed cases on the country.

He recalled that he was still a kid when the case was eventually over, even if the identity of such a criminal was still unknown. Even if it was curious that Kamon disappeared right in the times this criminal was acting, the chances that he would extend his job to a far region such as Sinnoh were extremely low, it was actually almost impossible.

Most of the kidnapped kids were either from Johto or the bordering region of Kanto. The few victims coming from other places, such as Unova or Hoenn, were taken because for some reason, they were staying in Johto at the time.

Despite the evidences, Riley could sense a strange feeling about the whole situation. It was the same sensation he had two months earlier when he found some Team Galactic grunts inside the Iron Cave. He just felt like there was something unrevealed.

"It's all a suggestion!" he groaned, slapping his face.

"I'm being influenced by my personal situation, dammit."

He turned the TV off and moved upstairs, that last consideration made him understand that maybe he needed some good sleep.

The following day, Riley woke up earlier than usual, he had some business left undone, and he needed to get over with it as soon as possible if he wanted to earn some time to go and visit his father.

It was a peculiar cold morning, Riley cursed himself: he forgot to wear his autumn clothes.

When he arrived to Canalave City, he could feel his body shivering.

Trying to close his coat a bit tighter, Riley knocked at Byron's door. He glanced at the city clock: seven o' clock in the morning, his father should be awake already.

It took some seconds before the door was opened up. Byron was still in his bed clothes, a towel pending on his shoulder. He smiles warmly at the sight of his son "Hey, what brings you here?"

Riley shrugged "It's been a whil—"his words were broke by a sneeze. Byron moved aside, letting me in "Isn't a bit too cold for that thin jacket?" he lectured "It suits you, but the weather is changing"

"I know, I just couldn't guess temperatures would get lower so soon".

They moved to the kitchen and as the good father he was, Byron poured Riley some hot coffee. The warm beverage relieved his sense of sickness a little.

"How is your pupil going?"

Barry's voice echoed in Riley's head at that sentence, making him shiver

"It's a bit… _intense_. Yes."

"Seems like you can use a break"

A moment of knowing silence fell among the two. Riley passed a finger around the mug's rim "You know I heard Roark yesterday."

Byron sighed deeply, trying to catch what Riley was about to tell him. Usually, his older son would just have called him to advise that Roark was cooled off and ask him if everything was fine. It was the first time Riley showed up at his door this early in the morning and moreover, without announcing.

Riley took a breath, he stared at Byron straight in the eye "Is it true you're visiting the graveyard almost every day now?"

Byron nodded; he wouldn't take his look away from the table.

"Roark says I'm overdoing it. That I go there just to straighten a completely fake"

Riley smiled, posing a hand on his father's shoulder "It's not said that is wrong." Riley paused, drinking a sip of coffee as to give himself some strength "Look dad, I came here because I'm worried for you. Among the Iron Island maintenance and Lucas I barely have some time left and I know that Roark is a lot busy as well. We barely hear each other on the phone…" Riley leaned both his hands on Byron's shoulder, staring straight into his eyes "Dad, are you feeling alone?"

Byron didn't answer; he just lowered his eyes, glancing to the floor for some mere seconds. He put both his hands on top of Riley's, gripping it tight

"I can't exactly state that." he sighed

"When both you and Roark were young, I was so busy and absorbed with everything that concerned you that I really had few time left to think about Kamon. Now it is different"

He glanced around the room as if he was looking for someone.

"Lately, it feels like it has never left. Every time I come back home, I am sure I hear him calling from the bedroom. I know, it might sound stupid and foolish. I feel a fool myself."

Byron passed a hand in his hair, biting his lower lip, tears forming at the corner of his eyes "It is hard to admit to myself, it's like I'm realizing I've been lying to myself for all these years. Sometimes, I feel the urge to pack my things and go searching for him around the world. On the other side, the fear that I've always been right, that he was murdered keeps me nailed right here."

"You should speak with Roark about this. This won't bring Kamon back, but will surely enlighten the burden you've been bringing for all this time. As for me, you know, if there's something, anything I can do all you have to do is contact me."

Byron's lips curled up into a smile, he leaned forward hugging his son tight "Thank you. What you're doing is more than enough for me."

They stood still, in that position for some moments. That gesture worked as a medicine for Byron's heart. Maybe Riley was right, he had just been feeling alone.

That kind of magical moment was broke when Riley sneezed point-blankly.

"Darn…"

He muttered, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket. Byron shook his head "You should take a break as well. Go home and have some days of good rest. You're strong, but you're not made of steel."

Riley shrugged "Well, I guess so. Those kids require more work than planned."

"Come on." Byron glanced at the wall clock"Jeez" he sighed "I should be getting to work."

Riley followed his father to the coal cave; they exchanged a hug and greeted each other. Being pretty glad to see his father's mood relieved, he called Salamence out and flew back home, his brain trying to work out some kind of plan to solve this situation.

Woken up by the billionth sneeze that night, Riley forced himself out of the bed to get some medicine. That damn cold was turning into something more serious.

He wasn't in the right conditions to train Lucas and Barry, the bare thought made him feel even sicker.

He took his pokègear out to advise Lucas not to come the following day, and the whole week long.

He barely ended to write the message, when an alert appeared on the screen:

"November 22nd, geologist and wife 11:00 A.M."

Riley frowned at the yellow pop-up window on the screen, wondering what was that supposed to mean. He tried to collect some information at the back of his numb brain. His jaw literally dropped open.

"Darn it! I completely forgot it! I need to clean the guest room!"

Two weeks earlier, Roark announced him there was a foreign geologist who was interested in the Iron Cave's stones for one of his studies and he gave his availability to host both him and his wife for some days. Knowing he couldn't cancel the event point blankly few hours before their departure, Riley took the broom and all the cleaning products he owned in his house to tidy the guest room up for good.

Even if he was sick, those strangers' presence wouldn't cost him anything, he just ensured them a place to stay, they were both adults and he wouldn't have to look after them.

It wasn't the first time he hosted someone he had never met for a couple of days, in the end, that was kind of his job as the guardian of the Iron Island.

The cleaning up took him less than expected, there was just some dust to swipe and some minor stuff to fix. Despite that, he felt dead tired, just as if he had to clean the whole Iron Cave.

Lucario snorted, his master was peculiarly noisy that night.

Noticing his pokèmon's uneasiness, Riley leaned the broom against the wall and patted its head "Don't worry buddy. I'm done with that." he said climbing up to his bed "Please be sure I will be awake by ten in the morning…"

As the reliable mate it was, Lucario shook its master awake as the morning came.

Riley groaned turning on the other side "The pokèsnacks are in the top shelf…" he muttered. At that, the pokèmon frowned, pinching Riley's side. Said man jolted up rubbing the pinched point "Hey! Don't get so cocky!" Lucario shook his head pointing out to the guests' room direction. Riley glanced at the clock: 9:34. Rubbing his eyes, he reluctantly jumped off of the bed.

"You're right. Thank you for reminding me."

Riley was peculiarly slow that morning, being almost sleep deprived made him move as fast as a Torkoal. His nose was completely closed and he was forced to breath with his mouth.

"Good fucking morning" he grunted, splashing cold water on his face "I hope they won't be annoying or noisy."

At around a quarter to eleven, some knocks came from the door. Adjusting his shirt, Riley went to open. Hoping they would just drop their things and let him sleep.

The couple had a curious appearance: the husband was pretty the eccentric type, not so tall, light brown straight hair. He was wearing a brown parka with some orange, green and yellow decoration on the sleeves and lower edge; it looked like something worn by Native Americans in the movies. He had a pair of fur boots that Riley had always seen just on girls. He looked funny and gentle.

On the other hand, his wife was kind of scary: she was taller than her husband; she wore a pair of combat boots and a long dark blue coat. On her head she wore a black wool hat with the acronym "G.C.P.D." printed in white on the front. Her long black hair were tied back in a ponytail and it looked like she was glaring at him.

Pretending he was the happiest person on earth, Riley bent down smiling "Welcome on the Iron Island Mrs. And Mr. …"

He looked up at the husband stretching his hand out. The man grabbed it gently "Hello. I am Gale and she is my wife Blackie."

The woman shook hands with Riley, and he didn't miss to notice that she was kind of strong.

"Please, come in I'll show your room." He said taking their luggage up the stairs.

"I'm sorry it's not the Ritz hotel…" he joked, causing Gale to laugh "It's nice. It's more than enough for us, thank you for hosting us."

"It's nothing. I'd follow you in the Iron Cave, but I'm not in my best shape at the moment…"

Gale shrugged "Don't worry, there's no need. I studied the conformation pretty well, and I don't need to get all the way deep into the cave."

The couple opened their packs taking some goods out. Riley decided to take advantage of the situation to make his escape "Okay, I'll leave you to your things now. The door on the side of the bed is the bathroom and everything in the kitchen and living room is available for your use. If you need anything, I'll be in my room next door."

Riley closed the door behind his back, literally throwing himself on the bed. He would hopefully get the so desired sleep.

It was already afternoon when Riley woke up again. His health conditions weren't getting any better, but at least he wasn't feeling tired anymore.

Despite his cold, Riley felt relieved; he couldn't remember the last time he took some days off. Some days of complete laziness was everything he needed at the moment. He could spend time watching some of the interesting programs he wouldn't be able to follow otherwise.

As he approached the stairs, he saw the light on downstairs and he could hear the sound of someone tapping its fingers on a computer keyboard.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, he found Blackie sitting at the kitchen table, writing something. She occasionally checked some documents on the table.

"Hello"

She said without taking her eyes off the screen.

Riley felt kinds uneasy, he wasn't expecting one of his guests staying during the day, but what was he supposed to do? Kick her out? He shook it off, she didn't seem the noisy type, and things could have worked out.

"Uhm… would you like some coffee?" he suggested, taking the pot out.

The woman murmured a "Yes, thank you." She was completely absorbed in whatever she was doing. Glancing at the guest from time to time, Riley noticed she didn't change her clothes: she was still wearing those combat boots from earlier and she had a pair of fingerless gloves on her hands.

"Weirdo" he thought, taking two mugs out. His stomach made some noises; this made him remember he hadn't eaten a single thing from the previous night.

Riley put the coffee mugs on a tray together with some bread jam and cookies. He brought it to the table.

Blackie took her glasses off, smiling up at the host.

"Thank you." She said taking the offered beverage.

"You're welcome."

She closed her laptop and settled all the documents aside in order not to spot them with food.

"I'm sorry, I monopolized the table, but those documents needed to be sent by tomorrow."

Riley could feel the tension going down a bit, in the end; she didn't seem to be as aggressive as he thought in the first place.

"It's fine, I understand that." he said, biting a cookie.

"Previously I forgot to ask you, where are you from? Roark told me you were from abroad."

Blackie snickered "That's a hard question I guess. I was born in Lavaridge Town in Hoenn, while my husband is from Fuchsia City in Kanto. However, we're both currently living in Johto."

Riley was happy to hear that: travelling has always been one of his biggest dreams, but with his current wage, he couldn't even think about it, thus, it was enough for him to hear it from people.

"Wow, visiting the Lake of Rage is one of my dreams." He commented. The woman furrowed at the comment

"It doesn't bring any good memory to me."

Riley frowned

"I started working as a police officer during the times when Team Rocket was at the peak of the power. They had a secret base in Mahogany Town by which they produced a signal that forced pokèmon to evolve prematurely."

"That's kind of disgusting."

"Yes, Johto's fame isn't one of the best. Team Rocket, Lance and his fellows during their villain period and let's not forget about the Masked Man. Arceus gracious, that was a lot of job as well."

In that moment, Riley recalled the news he heard the previous day and he couldn't keep his mouth shout, he wanted to ask her more information about that happening.

"So you were in Johto when it happened?"

Blackie nodded "Yes. One of the worst cases ever. That man was a sadist. And what's worse is that we had never caught him. He chose his victims wisely; all the kidnapped children had some peculiar abilities. We could never explain how he could get inside the houses: there wasn't even a broken window whenever some kid went missing. He didn't take children older than six years old; I guess it was way harder to achieve a complete brainwash after that age."

Riley was disgusted "A…brainwash?"

"Exactly. The kids weren't able to recall who their family was; it was like they completely forgot their past. After everything was over, for some of them it took quite a long time to collect all the pieces of their lost memory. The ones who recovered quicker were the ones who were kidnapped around the age of six. Two of them are now members of the Elite Four"

Riley couldn't believe her words, somehow he was encouraged. If Roark's missing brother was now a gym leader, it could be easier to find him "Really?"

Blackie was kind of surprised in hearing that, okay that he had always lived in Sinnoh, but at least he should know the person she was talking about.

"You could bet on it. One of them is the psychic Elite Four Will. His brother is an Elite as well, and he's here in Sinnoh."

Riley's eyes went wide "Lucian? Was he taken as well?"

In the end, it was normal for him to be this shocked. Despite he saw Lucian in different occasions while visiting his aunt Bertha, the man always barely spoke to him. Plus he was pretty reserved and introvert person, he doubted he would confess the truth even if they were more intimate. Not that he had ever been curious about it anyway.

Blackie shook her head, taking another sip of coffee: "No. he was eight years old at the time while his brother was just six. If it wasn't for the age, he would have been taken too. That's sure. The whole Johto Police is still thanking him: he was among the first to give us material evidences to find the lost children."

The policewoman noticed Riley's interest in the subject. She had been working for the police force for quite a long time now; she conducted several inquiries and saw almost every kind of people. She couldn't read their minds, but she was able to recognize peculiar behaviors, and this was one of those cases.

Either for habit and personal curiosity, Blackie decided to tell him more about Lucian's case. All the facts listed were of public domain, she didn't have any kind of restriction. She smelled a new upcoming case.

Will was taken in the night. Someone irrupted in the house, knocking all the family members off for good using chloroform. When the following day Lucian woke up, his little brother was gone.

Lucian shared a strong bond with his brother, and he couldn't keep himself from looking for him. Even though she was two years under the legal age for owning a pokèmon, seen his peculiar intelligence and maturity, the trainer commission decided to allow him to get a pokèmon before the time.

Since he got his little Ralts, Lucian started travelling around Johto in search of his little brother. Sometimes he also found himself in seriously harmful situations.

The first contact with his brother happened when he was thirteen years old: he was somewhere in the Ilex Forest with Ralts. A group of bullies aimed at him (or, more precisely, at his money) and challenged him into a not so fair pokèmon fight.

The rascals were older and they loved to use dirty tricks during the battle, they completely ignored Lucian's requests to stop, that he didn't have any money with him. His Ralts resulted seriously injured and he was too: he wound his arm trying to shield his pokèmon from the foe's Starmie Ice Beam.

The three bullies cornered him, their pokèmon advancing towards him in a threatening way. No one could hear him if he tried to scream.

When he thought he was going to get hurt for good, something fast hit both the bullies and their pokèmon.

Fearing it was some angry wild pokèmon, Lucian shot his eyes closed, praying for the whole circle of enemies to disappear.

Among the attack commands and some cursing words, he could hear a fourth voice. One that it didn't belong to the group of young crook around him. That voice sounded different, but rather familiar. When he finally heard the mean crowd running away, he slowly opened his eyes. There was a dark figure standing in front of him. It wore a mask and a black hood. The mysterious boy held a book he previously let fall to the ground.

Lucian took a glimpse of that lilac hair peeking out of the pitch black dark hood. It took him less than three seconds to understand who he was standing in front of.

The boy stared at him as he was also feeling something. In that occasion they didn't exchange any words, but Lucian could tell he had waken something up in his younger brother.

After that event, Lucian went straight to the police to sue the happening, hoping they will give him a hand. He signed the exact position all the events take place in, the way his brother was dressed and the pokèmon team he had with him.

The police sent out a squad in the location, but as predictable, they weren't able to find anything at the moment. This didn't keep Lucian from trying. He patiently followed the few clues he was given, failing most of the times. Thanks to his persistence, he met his brother other few times; this gave him the occasion to trace a map of his movements.

As soon as he owned more evidences, he went back to the police, who, also thanks to the proofs given, were eventually able to start tracing profiles of the disappeared children and the areas in which some of them were kept.

It take some years before he was eventually able to embrace his brother again, but the waiting and the hard work eventually worked out.

Not all the children were in fact found or given back to their families, sometimes they couldn't even be found. However, without Lucian's precious help, they would have discovered less than the half of the missing kids, and maybe the Masked man would have carried out his activity longer than he actually did.

Riley listened to the tale with such a great interest. He felt like the Masked Man and Kamon's disappearance could have been connected.

"So, the kidnapped children had some peculiar characteristics… it wasn't just a matter of age." Affirmed Riley, pronouncing it more like a question.

Blackie nodded "Yes. In a first moment, all the kidnappings seemed to be completely random, but as the inquiries proceeded, we found out that the selected kids had some characteristics in common: the age range was from three to six, sometimes even two and one, but never older. All the kids were in a perfect health state and they were either smarter than the others or they had some special abilities."

Riley felt a shiver going down his spine, maybe if his parents left him wandering in Mt. Silver instead of Mt. Coronet, he would have fallen under the Masked Man as well. It was the first time in his life that he considered his abandon some kind of luck.

"I'm sorry madam, now it came back to my mind. This Will, isn't him the Psychic Elite, the one whose left eye is completely blind?"

"I guess he had some kind of accident later, because at the time he was taken, he didn't have such a trouble."

Thinking back at the sad story he had to listen to several times, Riley recalled one peculiar thing: while Kamon wasn't affected by anything in particular, Roark had troubles with his sight. In the first place, he thought just one of them was taken because it was easier to go unseen with a single kid instead of two. However now, it seemed likely to him. The only odd factor was the unfortunate fact's location: it was pretty far from Johto and Kanto.

Riley glanced at the woman, conscious he was posing her a lot of questions "So, you say it isn't possible that a kid was kidnapped from here and taken all the way to Johto?"

Blackie shrugged "Possible but extremely unlikely. To reach Johto from here, there is an ocean to pass. It is hard to go unnoticed for such that long treat. But if the crook his smart, then anything could happen." She stopped, staring at Riley "Are you talking about someone close to you?"

Riley froze: he was found out. Not that he didn't mean to, but it was one of those rare times someone anticipated him.

He rubbed the back of his head "Well, more or less… Actually, it is connected to my step-family; I wasn't even with them when it happened. However, this affected me as well."

Blackie crossed her arms over her chest in sign of interest. She asked Riley to move on and tell his story with the promise of giving him some advices if she had any.

Collecting all the facts in his mind, Riley began his reconstruction, trying not to miss a single crucial fact. He was so detailed it seemed like he was the one who lived it. He was meticulous on all the details he could refer: the age, the appearance and, when known, even the attitude of all the people involved in the fact.

The woman scribbled down some notes, interrupting from time to time. When Riley's tale was over, she stared at the messy written paper, thoughtful.

"Well, according to your story, both the timespan and the modus operandi recall the one of the Masked Man. However, seen the location, I daresay it is more likely the work of an imitator."

She turned the paper on the back, sketching a quick map. She then took a red pen and circled a zone in what was supposed to be Sinnoh and traced a line to Mahogany town.

"The region of Johto wasn't really accessible at the time. Thanks to Team Rocket modification of radio frequencies, no planes were allowed to land or depart from there at the time, thus I suppose the only way they would be moving was by ship. Allowed that they reached the coast safely, there were several police controls, they wouldn't go unnoticed."

Blackie scratched her forehead, trying to figure out another way the kid would have reach Johto without being noticed. She stared at the map again and again when something came to her mind.

"The second option, and the most likely one, is that they passed through Unova"

Riley seemed surprised at the comment.

"See, Sinnoh and Unova are straightly connected. Unova was a blooming region at the time: they build the first underwater tunnel which allowed trains to reach Kanto easily. It would have been longer but easier for them to reach Kanto first and then pass the border on foot. Or maybe they didn't even need to make it to Johto, as I said before; the Masked Man had some business in Kanto as well. The trains were few and expensive at the time, and since not so many people used them, the controls were way lighter."

Riley glanced at the map, the burned corpse was found close to the Sinnoh-Unova passage entrance. At the time they focuses their researches barely in the region of Sinnoh, they wouldn't even think to go out of the borders.

"So, you are saying he could be alive?"

"Was a DNA test carried out on the corpse? Or they just asked the father to recognize him?"

"My father was asked to recognize the corpse. I guess that even if invented, the DNA test wasn't available for all the inquiries."

Blackie nodded "I see. And, why do some of your relatives doubt about the corpse identity?"

Riley's mouth turned into a smile as the image of the young Roark buckling to the story of the pendant came back to his mind "He had a Lunatone pendant when he disappeared, and not only the corpse didn't have it, but the object was never found. Of course it is likely that it went completely destroyed somewhere in the fire, or maybe he lost it during the way and someone took it. Since it was made of plastic, there wasn't even a reason for them to open an inquiry on an apparently lost toy. Maybe it is just some kind of mental conviction my brother sticks to, acceptance sometimes can be hard."

The policewoman shook her head, closing her laptop and collecting all the papers inside a black leather bag "He could be right instead. While I was specializing in Kalos, my boss was investigating on a series of robberies. The crooks moved around with a red car. One day it was found burned close to Lumiose City. There were four corpses inside. Further investigations revealed the crooks took four corpses from the faculty of medicine. With this trick they almost reached the borders. If people have some kind of proof that you are dead, it is harder that you'll ever be found out, especially in a period in which technology and science isn't as advanced as it is now."

"Could it be possible to carry out a DNA test now?" asked Riley. Blackie's words lit some hope up in his heart.

"Of course it is, but to carry that out you need some tangible evidences which prove your doubt. Even if they existed, the authorization of your father is needed to unbury his son and make further analysis, and according to my experience, I can confirm that this is even harder than finding evidences. "she stopped, glancing at Riley "Just one thing though. What happened to the mother?"

Riley tilted his head to the side "She disappeared with all of my father's money. No corpse was ever found. In the end she had the time and means to do it. Of course the police forces tried to find her, but after the corpse discovery, my father decided it was pointless to keep on looking for her. As I told before, the relationship between the two had completely crumbled down."

"I see."

Riley found it rather odd that the woman didn't inquiry more on Ariana. Seen the facts, she was the one who committed the crime, don't the police usually push more on the responsible?

Maybe she took that conversation as it was, in the end, there were no elements to make it a real inquiry. This just meant he needed to find some. For the first time after a long period, he was positive some good news might have come and his family would be saved from the course they carried on their shoulders for such a long time.

 **A/N: My hand slipped. Just now I realized I wrote more than 10 pages for the first chapter O.o I am glad I was able to properly introduce one of my OC (that from now on will just make some cameos, I want to bring Riley at the center of the attention :))) ) .**

 **I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Watching all those creepy programs on murders and missing people was a kind of an inspiration for this story.**

 **Thank you for reading, see you in the next chapter! :))**


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